User blog:Meganstrickland/The search for my next notebook
UPDATE: I decided to try the Essentials notebook from Peter Pauper Press, but it was out of stock (gasp!) so I got a "Scribbles That Matter" notebook instead. I've just started using it. Functionally, I like it. Style-wise, I'd prefer something more minimalist. Hopefully the Essentials will be available by the time I use this one up. Thank you Floodid, CarolinaAsh, and indescribble for your help!! ---- Rather than make a monster post in Planner Addicts, I thought I'd write this up here and post a link. Really hoping some of you lovely people might have suggestions for me! :o) Here's what I'm looking for: *fountain pen friendly (I'm not super picky about paper smoothness and I can deal with some ghosting/showthrough, but it must not bleed with most inks) *hard cover (or possibly a very firm "soft" cover, but I'm seldom writing at a desk or table, so it needs to be something that will provide a flat surface on its own) *dot grid *B5/composition size would be ideal, but no smaller than A5/half-letter *white paper would be ideal; if it's ivory, the lighter the better *pretty cover color(s), though I'd settle for black (or whatever) if everything else was good EDIT to add some things I forgot... *bookbound (not spiral) *no leather (I'm vegan) I don't particularly care about: *page numbers / index *elastic band or other closure *pocket Closest options I've found: *'Leuchtturm' - many reviews mention issues with bleeding when using fountain pens, so sadly that's a no-go *'Rhodia "webbie"' - strong contender; cons: A5 is smaller than ideal, it's only available in black or orange cover, and the paper is ivory *''Moleskine '''- another strong contender; '''pros: XL size (7.5 x 10) sounds perfect; cons: the hardcover version is only available in black, and the paper is ivory'' (update: not fountain pen friendly) *'Essentials '(Peter Pauper Press) - strong contender; pros: paper is very light ivory, almost white (thanks for the info, @CarolinaAsh!); cons: A5 is smaller than ideal, only available in black cover *I've also considered printing and binding it myself. I enjoy bookbinding, but my printer can only handle letter-size paper so I wouldn't be able to make my ideal size notebook and I'm kinda bummed about the prospect of putting in all that time to make something that's only almost right. The real sticking point, though, is that I really need to know how many rows and columns are on each page and this information is surprisingly hard to find. I use a 24-hour weekly spread, so the number of rows is especially important. It doesn't have to be ''exactly ''any specific number of rows, but some numbers would work out better than others, if that makes any sense. For example, 25 rows (24 hours plus 1 row header) would work well. Likewise, 49 or 50 rows would work well (48 half-hours plus 1-2 row header). I could make use of ''some ''extra rows by using the space for other things, but, like, 40 rows would just be awkward. Am I impossibly picky? Or is there a perfect notebook out there for me? EDIT to add some other ideas I've had... *add a hard cover to a softcover notebook that otherwise meets my requirements (there seem to be a lot more softcover options for my preferred size) *get a stack of slim cahier-style notebooks that otherwise meet my requirements, and bind them together in a hard cover *order a custom-made notebook---pricey, but there are sellers on Etsy that do beautiful work and can make larger sized notebooks than I could do myself; would have to contact them about fountain pen friendliness and number of dots Category:Blog posts